Ingredients

1 egg white for securing the ngoh hiang or use the marinaded meat mixture

vegetable oil for deep frying

(A) Meat Filling

500 grams minced pork belly (or use a fattier cut of pork) for best results, the meat should be grounded only once

200 grams shallots peeled and finely chopped

15 grams dried shrimps soaked in hot water until softened, pat dry with paper towels and chop finely or grind until powdery

300 grams prawns coarsely chopped after removing shells and veins

10 water chestnuts peeled and coarsely chopped

2 tbsp chopped spring onions

1/2 carrot use a zig zag peeler to julienne to thin strips, then finely chopped

(B) Seasoning

1 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tsp five-spice powder

1/4 tsp white pepper powder

1 egg lightly beaten

1 tbsp plain flour

Directions

Add (A) to a large bowl and season with (B). Mix thoroughly and marinade overnight in the fridge.

To fold the ngoh hiang, lay a piece of cut bean curd skin on the work surface. Place two and half tbsp of meat filling in the lower half of the bean curd skin, leaving a small gap at the bottom and at the sides. Fold the bottom flap up and dab the side edges with egg white. Fold the sides over the meat filling and roll the meat roll tightly towards the top. Secure the remaining corner with egg white to seal the roll.

Prepare a steamer lined with parchment paper. Arrange the ngoh hiang such that they do not touch one another, and steam in batches for 10 minutes each time. Let the steamed ngoh hiang cool and air dry completely on a wire rack.

Heat vegetable oil in wok. Deep fry in batches, for about 2-3 minutes, until the ngoh hiang are golden brown. Drain excess oil on paper towels/tempura paper before serving.

Noob Cook Tip

After steaming the ngo hiang at step 3, you can freeze the extras in an airtight container or zip lock bag.

For ngoh hiang, I always buy the pork from the wet market. Choose the pork belly cut (the fat is nice), and tell the uncle to only ground the meat once. If you tell him that you are making ngoh hiang, he will probably know too. More details at para 2, page 1.

I don’t really defrost it before deep frying. Yes, you can use the air fryer. Simply brush the ngoh hiang with vegetable oil all round and bake until golden. With the air fryer though, I find that the cooking time is longer than deep frying and can’t cook a lot at a time, but you don’t have to deal with splattering oil and they also turn out less oily.